Should You Appoint a Bank or an Attorney as Executor of Your Estate? The Truth South Africans Need to Hear.

By Roy Bregman, admitted attorney since 1974 · Bregman Moodley Attorneys Inc

Walk into most South African banks and ask them to help you draft a will. They will typically do it for free — on one condition: that you name the bank as executor of your estate. It sounds like a reasonable exchange. It almost never is. After 52 years of administering estates and watching families navigate this choice, I want to set the record straight.

What Is an Executor and Why Does It Matter?

The executor is the person or institution appointed by the Master of the High Court to administer your deceased estate. They collect your assets, pay your debts, liaise with SARS, draft the Liquidation and Distribution Account, and ultimately distribute what remains to your heirs. It is a role with real responsibility — and it comes with a fee.

What Does an Executor Charge?

Executor fees are prescribed by the Administration of Estates Act. The statutory maximum is:

These fees are always negotiable. The law sets a maximum, not a mandatory tariff. An attorney-executor will very often negotiate a reduced fee, particularly for large or straightforward estates. Banks and trust companies typically charge the full statutory maximum.

The Bank Executor: What They Don’t Tell You

The Free Will is Not Really Free

The bank recoups the cost of drafting your will through executor’s fees — charged at the full statutory tariff on your estate. On a R5 million estate, that is R175,000 plus VAT. A professionally drafted will from an attorney may cost a few thousand rand — a fraction of the saving on executor’s fees.

Banks Decline Small Estates

If your estate turns out to be smaller than expected — or economically unattractive to administer — the bank may decline to act as executor. Your estate then requires a separately appointed executor dative, causing delays and additional stress for your family at an already difficult time.

The Personal Touch

When a family member walks into a bank’s trust department, they are one file among thousands. Administration is managed by rotating staff with no personal connection to your family or knowledge of your circumstances. When they walk into our offices, they are known. We have often drafted the will, we know the family’s circumstances, and we are accessible.

Banks Rarely Negotiate

Attorney-executors are willing to discuss fees — particularly for complex or high-value estates. In 52 years, I have always been prepared to have that conversation. Banks operate on standardised tariffs with very limited flexibility.

When Is a Bank or Trust Company the Right Choice?

There are circumstances where a corporate executor makes sense: where no suitable family member or attorney can serve, where the estate is likely to be administered over many years (such as a testamentary trust for minor children), or where the deceased had no existing relationship with an attorney. Corporate executors have institutional continuity — they will not retire or predecease the testator. For certain trust structures, they offer dedicated trust management expertise.

However, these are specific circumstances. For the vast majority of South Africans — and especially for those with an established relationship with an attorney — an experienced attorney-executor offers a better outcome at a comparable or lower cost.

Questions to Ask Before Appointing Anyone as Executor

• What fee will you charge, and is it negotiable?
• Who specifically will manage my estate — and will they be the same person throughout?
• What happens if you decline to act (for banks — at what estate size)?
• How many estates do you administer simultaneously?
• How will you communicate with my family during administration?